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Integration of palliative care practices in an emergency department: A standardized palliative care referral process
Palliative care (PC) is a medical approach with the intent to provide patients with advanced and still progressing disease treatment care to improve their quality of life. PC is not only comprised of caring for patients ...
Prediction of Alcohol Withdrawal Severity Scale in the emergency department
Background and Review of Literature: Alcohol dependence is a problem nationwide and is often underreported by patients in a healthcare setting. People who suffer from alcohol dependence are likely to experience alcohol ...
Quality improvement project for door-to-EKG time for emergency room
The American Heart Association recommends the initiation of an EKG with interpretation in less than 10 minutes upon presentation to the emergency room for patients presenting with acute coronary symptoms. Treatment delay ...
Emergency department bedside handoff report for increased communication and patient experience: A quality improvement health program
Background: With increased emphasis placed on patient experience scores within hospital emergency departments (ED), communication between clinicians and patients has been identified as an area for improvement. Described ...
Change in culture: Addition of a clinical pharmacist to the emergency department antimicrobial culture review process
(2016-12-13)
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a unit based pharmacist in assisting with antimicrobial selection of female patients discharged from the emergency department with a diagnosis of an uncomplicated urinary tract infection.
Setting: Academic-affiliated emergency department in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted among 870 female patients who were discharged from the emergency department with a positive urine culture requiring antimicrobial therapy revision. The primary investigator abstracted specific medical record information to determine if a pharmacist-driven culture review resulted in a higher percentage of appropriate antimicrobial selection when compared to the standard nurse/physician driven-culture review. The revised antimicrobial therapy treatment plan was deemed appropriate or not based on the “International Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Acute Uncomplicated Cystitis and Pyelonephritis in Women: A 2010 Update by the Infectious Disease Society of American and the European Society for Microbiology and Infectious Disease”.
Results: A Chi-Square Test of Independence was conducted to evaluate the relationship between two categorical variables: (1) type of provider (physician/pharmacists) and (2) adherence to clinical practice guidelines (yes/no). The test emerged significant, C2 = 17.4, df= 2, p < 0.01. Thus, a significant relationship between type of provider and appropriate treatment was found. Specifically, 52.2% of physicians used the appropriate treatment whereas 84.4% of pharmacists used the appropriate treatment....
A screening tool for early recognition and treatment of sepsis
(2014-05-14)
Purpose: This study investigates the use of a sepsis screening tool to decrease the length of time from triage to treatment.
Design: In this exploratory study, a convenience sample was drawn from all patients triaged in ...
Evidence based change: A protocol to reduce ambulance diversion using the National Emergency Department Overcrowding Scale Tool
Background: Ambulance diversion (AD) occurs when emergency departments (EDs) experience over-demand of available resources and can no longer accept ambulance patients. Current evidence however, shows that AD delays critical ...
The role of fast tracks on length of stay in emergency departments
(5/18/2017)
Overcrowding in emergency departments (EDs) is a national crisis affecting hospitals. It has led to an association with poor patient outcomes and is a threat to public safety. Fast tracks (FTs) in the ED are one strategy ...
Initiation of a HIV screening protocol and pathway in the emergency department: A quality improvement initiative
(11/9/2017)
There is currently a nationwide campaign to address human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and treatment. The emergency department (ED) is a significant venue in the HIV prevention and treatment campaign. The quality ...
Trust me...I'm a trauma nurse
(2017-12-04)
Purpose: There is a large number of staff in the Emergency Department, high turnover rates, many different areas of focus which lead to inconsistencies in the care and documentation of care for trauma patients. The ...